


Smells Like Death

by gingayellow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vampire, By Minor I Mean Bad Guys, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 11:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8400070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingayellow/pseuds/gingayellow
Summary: It's been a year since Vampire Hunter Alfor was murdered, and one of his apprentices, Takashi Shirogane, disappeared. Alfor's remaining apprentice, Keith, finds Shiro... but Keith has changed as well. [Shiro/Keith, vampire AU. Warnings for violence, minor character death, and being locked in coffins, and some vampire mind control? idek]





	

Smells Like Death  
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender  
Characters/Pairing: Shiro/Keith  
Rating: PG-15  
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine  
Warnings: Past trauma, Violence.  
Notes: Vampire AU. Please note that this is a lot more violent than what I usually write! I really don't think that it's much worse than, say, an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I'm using the violence tag to be safe. Again, please keep that in mind. Also warnings for minor character death (i.e. villains) and being locked in coffins.

(This is also not the best thing I've ever written, but it's for a challenge community, and it's been a rough week, I need to feel accomplished in some way. ;;)

 

\--

 

Keith snarled as he swung his knife, instantly beheading the remaining vampire, named Count Lotor or whatever. Lotor’s head fell to the ground with an undignified thud, with his body joining him an instant later. Keith wanted to give the corpse a good kick, but he was already decaying into dust. All he would do was wind up sneezing.

_Lotor deserves worse. All vampires deserve worse._

He took a deep breath as he cleaned the blood off his knife before sheathing it. If Allura or Coran were here, they’d give him some speech about believing in himself. Pidge would poke him until he was distracted. Lance would make jokes Keith didn’t get, and Hunk would have pulled Keith into a big hug. But they were back at base—in theory, Keith had snuck out to hunt **again** , but it was hard to yell at him when he kept getting results.

Shiro, of course, would have said that didn’t matter, Keith was still risking his life when he fought alone, and he refused to let that continue—

Keith settled for walking through Lotor’s dust—and his ten henchmen’s dust as well. Shiro was gone. Alfor was gone. All that he could do now was keep hunting.

There was a knock.

Keith pulled out his knife, except no one was there. Maybe it was just a rat? This was an old building; it wouldn’t be too surprising if there was a few critter roaming around.

Two more knocks, from the other room.

The other room was locked, but Keith had been a thief before he’d become a hunter. After he picked the lock, he entered the room cautiously. “Show yourself.” He was certain that there was another person here. The only question now was if he’d have to kill said person. The knocks were now thuds, frantic and against some wooden surface, but the only wooden surface was… was a coffin, and no one was next the coffin, so…

Keith felt sick.

“Hello?!” The voice was low, and raspy—probably dehydrated. “P-please, please, help me, I don’t want—”

“Stay still.” Trying to say anything soothing was no good—when you were trapped in a coffin in one of the Galra clan’s twisted initiations, the only thing that would help was getting **out**. “I’ll save you.” The coffin’s lock was a little trickier, but Keith managed, lifting the lid, and…

And it was Shiro.

Shiro, who was blinking rapidly at the light, because he’d been shut up in that blasted thing while Keith had been avenging someone who was still alive after all. On autopilot, Keith helped him out of the coffin. In the year they’d been separated, Shiro’s black hair was now grey and white. His nose was scarred. And his right arm… judging from the make of the cybernetic prosthetic, they’d planned to make him a guard. Well, Keith wasn’t going to let them hurt Shiro anymore than they had.

“Keith?” Shiro’s gaze was unfocused, and he felt cold to the touch. “Is. Is it really you?”

“Yeah.” It was hard to sound collected, but Keith did his best. “And I’m getting you out of here.”

Shiro was cold, and shaky, but he held onto Keith with a frightfully strong grip. “Thank you…”

“I should be thanking you.” With some effort, Keith lugged Shiro out of the coffin, setting him on his feet. When Shiro wobbled, Keith wrapped an arm around him. “You held out this long.”

Shiro smiled sadly. “If you hadn’t come, I…” He buried his head in Keith’s shoulder, just for a moment. “I dreamt of this. You saving me. Sometimes it was all that kept me going.”

Keith held him closer. “Yeah, well, it’s real this time. I promise.”

Shiro leaned on Keith heavily, left arm clinging to his side. He glanced at Keith. His eyes were still warm and brown, but the bags under them were new. “Is Alfor here, too?”

Keith shook his head, focusing on getting Shiro to safety. Then he’d be too busy to be sad. “Alfor was killed. I serve his daughter now.”

“I see.” Shiro didn’t cry, but he did cling to Keith more tightly. “I’m glad you made it. Surviving fighting three vampires… that’s something only you could do.” He almost smiled. “It’s like you haven’t aged a day. Even your mullet’s the same.”

Keith knew that things were still bad, but the fact that Shiro could make a (bad) joke cheered him a bit. That cheer was instantly doused right before they entered the other room, and he felt Shiro shaking. “What if there are survivors. Keith, I know you’re tough, but I’m essentially helpless right now.”

“I got it.” Keith helped Shiro lean again a wall before he popped his head out the door. “Are any of you jerks still alive?”

The piles of dust were silent.

And with that, Keith escorted his former partner hunter to Allura Altea’s safehouse.

\--

“Allura, I am so sorry about your father. Please forgive me.”

Keith kept to a corner as Shiro knelt before Allura, trying to keep his temper in check. He understood guilt. But Shiro had been kidnapped by vampires for a year. He needed to rest, not apologize. But Shiro had given him The Look, which even a year later could erode Keith’s will to nothing.

“Shiro, none of that was your fault.” She wiped at her eyes with her blouse sleeve. “And Father would be thrilled to know that you survived. I know I am.”

“Thank you,” Shiro whispered, head hung low. “Once I’m fully recovered, I’ll serve you as faithfully as I served your father.”

Allura glanced at Keith, smiling a bit. “I can see now why you two get along.” Then she returned her attention to Shiro. “But enough of this. Shiro, you must rest before you swear fealty to anyone else.” She helped him up, guiding him back to Keith.

“Don’t worry,” Keith said more to himself than Allura. “I’ll make sure he gets the rest he deserves.”

\--

And for the first two weeks, he did. In fact, Shiro did almost nothing **but** sleep, while Keith kept the others away—well, except for Hunk. But Hunk was the closest thing they had to a doctor, so. And Hunk was always warm smiles and soft words as he helped care for Shiro. He left some food for Keith as well.

“He seems like a good guy,” Shiro said one day after Hunk left.

“He is.”

Shiro smiled, and closed his eyes. “I’m glad you made some friends while I was gone. I imagine they kept you out of too much trouble.”

Keith considered that. He preferred to be alone most times. But Allura and Coran and Pidge and Hunk and Lance (yes, even Lance) had all wormed their ways into his heart.

Shiro opened one eye. “I hope that I’m still your favorite, though.”

Keith didn’t like laughing out loud, because his laugh sounded more like hard breathing. But he couldn’t help it. “Don’t worry. No one can compare to you.”

\--

By the third week, Shiro had recovered enough that he didn’t sleep almost all day. Unfortunately, this also meant that he had no respite from whatever had happened to him. He was still there, physically, but there were times that he’d… he’d just drift away. Of course, it was still Shiro, so asking him about it wasn’t going to get you anything beyond a sincere smile and assurance that he was fine, really—just a little tired. But Keith still stayed by his side, and crawled into bed with him when he had nightmares, trying to remind himself that while things were bad, at least Shiro was letting Keith hold him.

Then one day, he stepped into Shiro’s room, and Shiro and Hunk were both on the floor, picking up crackers/apologizing.

“Um.” There was no way Hunk would have made Shiro upset on purpose. And while Shiro was chanting “I’m so sorry” while scooping up crackers, he didn’t have that faraway look in his eyes. So while this was not an ideal situation, Keith wasn’t (too) worried. “Do you two need any help?”

“No,” Hunk said quickly. “It’s my fault, I came in while he was sleeping, and I didn’t think—”

“Hunk, you just startled me. That’s not a crime.” Shiro tossed what would have been his lunch into the wastebasket. “Please don’t worry.”

Hunk sighed heavily, placing what he’d gathered on the tray, presumably to dispose of later. “Well, at least let me make you something new, okay?”

“Okay.” When Hunk finally left, Shiro hid his face in his hands.

“Shiro,” Keith said as gently as someone like him could. “If you just need time alone, I’ll go. But if you wanna talk about it…” Shiro was silent.

Keith nodded to himself. “I’ll take that as you wanting me to leave, then.” He didn’t want to, but Shiro came first, and—

“Wait.”

Keith waited.

Shiro laughed shakily as he sat back down on the bed. “I. I remembered.” He glanced at his right arm. After several deep breaths, he continued. “And that was when Hunk came in, and it, ah,” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck with his left arm, “I guess he startled me.”

“Shiro, he and I both know what you went through. No one is expecting you to get better overnight.”

“Yes, but.” Shiro wrapped his arms around himself, closing in on himself. “Alfor used to praise me for being so cool under fire.” He closed his eyes miserably. “What would he think of me now?”

“He’d be darn proud of you for surviving, that’s what!” Keith wanted to grab him, hold him tight until the worst of it was over, but he wasn’t going to enter Shiro’s personal space without permission. Luckily, yelling (for once) seemed to help, as Shiro looked up, blinking owlishly. “Shiro, I…” Keith ran his hands through hair, not quite sure what to say next. But he had to say something. “You went through all of that, and you’re still here. You’re still good. You still wanna help people. You’re still **you** , and…” Keith trailed off, when he realized Shiro was looming over him.

“Um.” Shiro cleared his throat. “If I remember, you’re not exactly a tactile person, but is it all right if I hug you?”

Keith smiled up at him, arms out, and **yes** , Shiro was pressed against him, warm and real, muttering a thank you into Keith’s hair. Things weren’t perfect, but that was okay. Shiro was going to be okay. That was all that mattered.

“… Keith?”

Shiro only used that tone when Keith was about to get in trouble. “Yes?”

“Were you fighting vampires earlier?”

“Um, yeah. Why?”

Shiro pulled away so he could frown at him. “Was one of your new friends helping you?”

“Well, Lance was going to come with me, but he slept in and I got bored waiting, so…” He didn’t really see the problem here.

Shiro huffed, poking Keith’s forehead. “Next time, wait for him. Or, once I recover fully, I’ll come with you.” He managed a smile. “If you’ll still have me.”

Keith smiled back. “Always.”

“Thanks. Now grab a shower.” Shiro took a breath, and started to set up a new tray for his meal. “You smell like corpses.”

Keith’s smile faltered, but he agreed.

\--

Two days later, Keith found Shiro helping Hunk make breakfast.

“Shiro!” Keith grabbed him by his orange apron strings (Hunk, that blasted traitor, had lent him one). “You’re supposed to be resting!”

Shiro just gave him a smug grin. “How can I rest when Hunk and I are making croissants?”

Keith huffed, and glared at Hunk. “And you! I expect this negligence from Lance, but you?!”

“Okay, first off, that’s pretty rude to say about my boyfriend. Apt, but rude.” Hunk pulled the croissants out the oven. “And second, there’s only so much of Shiro’s sulking I can resist.” He set the tray on a counter to cool. “I told him if he got tired or anything I’d pick him up and carry him to bed, but so far he’s been okay!” He smiled warmly at Shiro. “Not to mention this guy knows his way around a kitchen.”

“You’re an excellent teacher,” Shiro smiled back. But then he grew serious as he turned his attention back to Keith. “I have to do something with myself.”

That Keith could understand. “Right. And sorry.” Of course Shiro would know his limits. “I need to be less ‘Keith’ about this.”

“Hey.” Shiro nudged him gently. “Some of us like Keith.”

After that, Shiro guided him to the kitchen table and they ate croissants in friendly silence. At least, they did until Hunk added, “Hey Shiro, maybe it’s time for you to meet the others. Lance and Pidge are great; I know you’ll love them.”

Shiro nodded. “Okay, but maybe just one at a time? I’m not so keen on crowds.”

Hunk smiled brightly. “One at a time it is.”

\--

“The name’s Lance!” Lance grinned like the fool he was as he grabbed Shiro’s metal hand, shaking it firmly. “You’re the reason why I became a Hunter, man! Did you know you saved my baby sister’s life?”

Shiro blinked. “I-I guess not.”

“It was at that creepy abandoned school you and Mr. Mullet went to about three years ago.”

“Oh.” Shiro nodded. “Now I remember.” He sighed softly. “I’m glad we were able to save her, along with everyone else."

Keith watched the exchange quietly. While he was not happy about Lance teasing him yet again, he was grateful that Shiro was getting the congratulations he deserved. He was a hero, and should be treated that way.

“Of course, I never would have made it out of there if it weren’t for Keith.” Shiro was grinning as he reached out, pulling Keith to his side, and Keith… did his best not to squeak in surprise.

“Keith?” Lance pouted. “But he’s not exciting and cool, like you.”

“It’s not about being exciting and cool, Lance!” Keith snapped back, and the next ten minutes was Keith yelling at Lance, Lance yelling at Keith, until Shiro very loudly recommended that they calm down.

\--

“Pidge Holt.” Pidge held out her hand to Shiro, smiling broadly. “Nice to finally meet Keith’s mysterious boyfriend.”

Keith huffed. “It’s not like that.”

Pidge just laughed. “Anyways, wanna see the tracking program I made?” She pulled her glasses off just long enough to clean them with her shirt sleeve. “It’s state of the art.”

Shiro leaned in to look, whistling softly. “I’ll say. I can’t even figure out how it works.”

“That’s the idea.” Pidge leaned back in her chair. “Only our team will have access codes to decipher it, so unless you have that…”

“You have nothing.” Shiro grinned at her. “Very sneaky.”

“Yeah, I’ve had some practice with that. Matt and I—” She froze.

Shiro placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You’re Matt Holt’s sister, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” She took off her glasses again, and rubbed at her eyes. “Before you say anything, he’s not dead, and I’m gonna find him.”

“Of course,” Shiro said without missing a beat.

Keith let out the breath he’d been holding, and ruffled Pidge’s hair, and watched Shiro ask some more questions about her program, and in the process effortlessly become Pidge’s surrogate brother. Maybe this was a good idea. Heaven knew that as tough as she was, she needed someone for her.

\--

“Wanna spar?”

Keith had been working out with a punching bag, but stopped when he saw Shiro approach him in a long sleeved black shirt and grey sweatpants. “Yes,” he admitted. Sparring with Shiro had always been the highlight of his day. “But are you up to it?”

“It’s been almost two months, and I promise I won’t do anything major.” He threw a couple of fake punches. “I just want to warm up. I need to get some practice in if I want to help you guys.”

Keith frowned, but Hunk had been right. It was hard to resist Shiro, especially when he was looking at Keith that intensely.

“For a bit,” Keith conceded. “But if you feel even a little off—”

“You will be the first to know,” Shiro assured him as he assumed a defensive stance.

It started slow. Just a few cautious punches and kicks. Keith held himself back so Shiro could get used to fighting again—at least until Shiro landed a solid blow to Keith left side. Then Keith let himself fight a little harder, moving around Shiro, landing in whatever hits he could, because speed was his best advantage against a bigger opponent. And… and it was nice. Just losing himself in movement and Shiro. He could almost pretend that neither of them had—

Keith yelped at Shiro threw him over his shoulder. That was what he got for being sentimental in the middle of a fight, he supposed.

“Not too bad for my first time in a year, hunh?” Shiro was laughing as he spoke, offering a hand up.

“Not bad ever,” Keith replied, taking said hand… and then freezing at the disturbed look on Shiro’s face.

“Shiro, are you all right?”

“Um, yeah. Sure.” He frowned. “Were you fighting vampires earlier?”

“Shiro, I’m a hunter. I’m almost always fighting vampires.”

Shiro didn’t laugh this time. “Well, maybe it’s time to talk to Hunk about investing in a stronger soap. You smell like decay again.”

Keith managed a nod, and told Shiro he would do that.

After that, Shiro left silently.

\--

“Sorry about earlier,” Shiro said later, hugging Keith from behind.

Keith kept his attention on his stakes. “Don’t mention it.”

“I have to.” Shiro rested his chin on Keith’s head. “I care about you, and I treated you like garbage.”

“Shiro, I smelled.” Like the creatures that had kidnapped Shiro. “Of course you wanted to get away.”

“But if I ran off every time you smelled, Keith, I’d never see you again.”

“Heh. Funny.” Keith pulled away from Shiro.

Shiro grinned at him, taking Keith by the hand. “Sorry. But c’mon, Lance ordered pizza.”

“Oh, really?” Keith let Shiro lead the way. After the day he’d had, he could go for pizza. And sure enough, it was hot and smelled like… aw, geez.

Keith pulled away from Shiro’s grip. “Actually, I’m not that hungry.”

“What?” Shiro gaped at him. “But you love pizza!”

“Yeah, but it gives me heartburn.” That was true. Keith pretended not to notice the guilty look Lance gave him. “I’m not even that hungry.” He left before Shiro could say anything else.

\--

The sensible thing would have been to go to his room. Or somewhere in Allura’s base. But Keith was tired of—of everything, so he hopped on his motorcycle and drive out to the edge of the woods. It wasn’t dark just yet. He’d have an hour until he had to worry about vampires.

He could be himself.

Keith’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Without thinking, he checked, and there was a message from Shiro. He wasn’t going to answer it, but it couldn’t hurt to look at it, so he’d have an idea what to say when he got home.

_Keith, remember when you said I’m still me? I want you to know that I fell the same. You’re still you as well._

Oh, Shiro. He probably thought Keith was just dealing with the emotional parts of having Shiro back. “If you only knew,” Keith whispered as he put his phone away. But so far, Shiro didn’t know, and he was going to keep it that way—

He had to sleep.

Keith groaned, forcing his eyes open as he staggered to his bike, because dang it, of course he was alone and unarmed with a vampire strong enough to have creepy mind control powers, and… and… he was so tired…

\--

When he woke up, he was chained to the ground in some sort of warehouse. Keith struggled, getting up to his knees, but there was no give beyond that. His phone was on a table a few feet away. So much for even hoping to call for help.

“Keith Kogane. The sole surviving apprentice of Elite Hunter Alfor.” The vampire who caught him was tall, and smiled cruelly. Judging from his armor, he was part of the Galra Clan, and important—possible Sendak? It had to be Sendak. “At least, until you rescued my guard.”

“Leave—” It was hard to talk. Sendak was still in his brain, oozing around, muddling his thoughts. “Leave him alone.”

Sendak eyed him coldy, and then kicked Keith in the gut. Then his head. Then the gut again. And again. And again.

Keith was doing his best not to puke as Sendak continued. “Shirogane is to be my greatest weapon. And you, my compatriot, are going to help me recover him.”

“Like heck I will,” Keith spat out.

“Where is he.” Sendak’s tone was even, but he voice was booming in Keith’s head, overwhelming, and he didn’t know how long he could hold out—

A glowing fist erupted out of Sendak’s chest before he turned into dust.

And then there was only Shiro, right hand slowly fading back to silver again, shaking like a leaf.

“Shiro,” Keith whispered, because he had to be dreaming this. Shiro was still recovering. He didn’t know about any of this. He couldn’t be here alone.

But instead of waking up, Shiro steeled himself, and unchained Keith, apologizing for taking so long and assuring him that the others would be here in half an hour.

“I’m fine,” Keith grunted as Shiro scooped him up, running. “Just—just need to rest. And eat.”

“Of course.” Shiro sat him down, and…

Why was Shiro rolling up his left arm sleeve.

“Shiro, **no**.”

“It’s okay, Keith. I know you’re a vampire. And I know after what you went through, you’re going to need energy quickly.” He held his arm to Keith’s lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll stop you when needed—”

“No!” With his remaining strength, Keith slapped Shiro’s arm away. “I can’t do that! I won’t! I’m not like…”

“Oh, Keith.” Shiro’s voice was somehow strong and painfully gentle at the same time as he stroked Keith’s face. “Of course you’re not like the Galra. But you do need something I can give you, and I won’t rest until I do that.”

Keith felt like he was going to puke again, but… but Shiro was right. He’d almost definitely suffered internal damage, and while Hunk usually had at least come cow’s blood, he was half an hour away. He hated it. He wasn’t sure if he could do it.

Shiro held him close, like this was the most natural thing in the world. “Keith, it’s you. I know I’m safe with you.”

Keith bit only hard enough to draw blood, and managed to swallow a mouthful until pain, exhaustion and self-disgust made him pass out.

He came to a little later, hearing someone with an annoying voice saying that vampire bites weren’t like the movies at all.

\--

When he woke up again, they were home, and Shiro offered him a mug of cow’s blood, doing his best to smile. “Here you go. Hopefully this is more palatable than, um, I was.”

Keith took a small sip. As casual as Shiro was acting, they both had a lot of explaining to do. “How long have you known?”

“I think I always knew.” Shiro sat on the bed next to Keith, gaze fixed on the open window. “When I last saw you… you were on the losing end of fighting three vampires, and when I see you again, you look just the same.” Shiro shrugged. “Of course, it was only a year that we’d been separated. But then I noticed that smell of decay that comes with vampires never quite left you.” He smiled a bit. “And then that business with the pizza just reinforced my suspicions. When you went missing for so long, I asked Pidge to help me track you down.”

Kieth huffed, propping himself against the pillows. “That’s why we never let Lance order. He always forgets to get a pizza without garlic.” Now it was time for something he was dreading to ask, but it was better to just get it done with. He was tired of hiding. “Why didn’t you confront me about this?”

Shiro shrugged, expression guilty. “At first, I was scared. For me and you. But then I remember that you hadn’t changed in your heart. After that, I figured you would tell me when you felt the time was right.”

“Hm.” Keith stared at the blankets. “I’m only half vampire. At least, that’s what Allura thinks, since I managed to get away before they could completely turn me.”

Shiro frowned. “And that means?”

“I don’t get sick in the sun, and I only need blood when I’ve been really hurt.” He took another sip of the cow’s blood.

“Ah.” Shiro sat next to him, eyes warm. “Well, while it’s nice to know that we could go for summer walks, as long as you’re here, everything’s fine.”

Keith felt the same way.


End file.
